Four Ways Mobility Makes Staffing Agencies More Effective

With the labor market continuing to heat up – the unemployment rate was down to 5 percent in November – recruiters and HR specialists expect the competition for talent to be tough in 2016. For the first time in several years, candidates already have the upper hand in employment conversations, and that hand is only going to grow stronger in the coming months.

According to Careerbuilder’s Q4 Pulse survey of 200 members of the staffing industry, sourcing qualified candidates is the top challenge that recruitment agencies face. Although just 4 percent of respondents said “creating and executing a strong mobile strategy” was a goal for 2016, agencies that deploy a phone system designed for mobility can significantly improve their ability to identify and engage the most sought-after candidates.

In fact, data shows that embracing mobility is no longer a “nice to have” among recruiters. It’s an imperative. Today, both recruiters and candidates are increasingly using mobile devices to connect. A recent study by the Pew Research Center shows that the number of Americans who own a smartphone, a tablet and a computer has more than doubled in the last three years, to 36 percent from 15 percent. Meanwhile, 66 percent of Americans own at least two digital devices.

What it all means is that staffing agencies that focus on making mobile interactions more effective can carve out a stronger position in the industry. Mobile communications technology streamlines the process of sourcing, managing and engaging with talent, while improving the candidate’s experience with the firm.

Here are four ways recruiters can put mobility to work.

1. Never Miss An Opportunity. Recruiters are frequently on the move, engaging and connecting with potential candidates and clients at their offices, in hotel lobbies and at restaurants. While their mobile phones are a lifeline back to the office, a phone system with true mobility changes the game. When the recruiter’s smartphone is integrated with the agency’s phone system, their colleagues can reach them anywhere. When a hard-to-reach candidate finally reaches out, the call can be transferred seamlessly from the home office to the recruiter.

2. Automate Everything. Like any good salesman, a recruiter’s time is best spent connecting personally with clients and candidates. Yet the most common method of tracking phone activity on the road is by hand. This is both time-consuming and burdensome. As the staffing industry becomes more data-driven, it’s also less effective. A mobility solution saves time by automating tasks with features such as click to dial. Plus, phone activity and history can be aggregated and consolidated for immediate management access.

3. Integrate With ATS. When your phone system is integrated with your applicant tracking system, recruiters have full access to applicant information wherever they are. They can reach out more quickly to highly desirable candidates and make more convincing pitches.

4. Productivity Features. In the past, being on the road or in a remote office meant limited access to people and information back at headquarters. But mobility allows recruiters to take the office with them. They can participate in Web conference calls, access team calendars and transfer calls to colleagues. They can also fully participate in collaboration sessions, even sharing presentations and documents right from their mobile device. This greatly boosts productivity and enables staffing firms to jump on opportunities more quickly than their competitors.

At first glance, the advantages of integrating your recruiters’ smartphones into your phone system may seem incremental. But taken together they can significantly improve a staffing agency’s ability to source, engage and impress talent. With only 4% of firms focused on creating a mobility strategy in 2016, now’s an opportune time to get ahead of the competition by arming your staffing team with phone system mobility features.